I. Narrative

Please use attachments to answer the following questions in the order presented. If you are

requesting funds for more than one program or activity, please address the following questions

for each one. Limit your total response to four pages, using standard one-inch margins, single-

spacing and 12-point font.

1. What is the situation, problem or opportunity this grant will address?

This grant allows our neighborhood association to advocate for, stay in communication with, and

provide a sense of community for all residents within the neighborhood. Not all of our residents

participate on social media or have home internet access, and a main objective of our association

is to provide equity when it comes to communication, and diversify the methods that we use to

keep our neighbors informed about meetings, events, and issues impacting the neighborhood.

Our paper newsletter is a long standing tradition that allows us to reach every house in the

neighborhood, regardless of technology access, creating a sense of inclusion for all neighborhood

residents. We have been working hard for the last five years to increase our internet presence and

embrace free forms of communication, but our most successful means of reaching neighbors

continues to be the paper newsletter. We would like to be able to send out a four-page newsletter

at least twice a year.

We will continue to devote time this year to expanding our various forms of internet

communication, and explore other free, creative forms of communication. In the past five years,

we have developed the following for the organization: website, e-newsletter, Facebook page and

group, an email list-serv, Nextdoor page, and improved email communication regarding issues

and developments affecting the neighborhood. The coordinator position has been crucial in

helping to organize and update the growing number of communication tools we now have

available to neighborhood residents. This grant will also help us to provide a modest salary to our

neighborhood coordinator who maintains our internet presence (posting at least 4-5 times per

week), curates content for our e-newsletters, handles neighborhood communication, formats the

paper newsletter, and organizes meetings and events. The coordinator also manages community

outreach with local schools, organizations, and businesses, and arranges guest speakers for our

monthly meetings.

2. How will this grant support the mission of the organization?

This grant will enable us to support BCNA’s mission to maintain and improve living conditions

and communication among the residents. Specifically, it will enable BCNA to continue to

produce, print, and mail newsletters to all residents, keeping them informed of and involved in

meetings, issues, and volunteer opportunities. It will also pay the coordinator’s salary so that she

can continue to produce the newsletters, manage our internet presence and serve as liaison

between the residents, officers, and the City regarding the issues and opportunities facing the

neighborhood. The coordinator position is essential to the success of our efforts to reach and

engage neighbors, as having a dedicated individual to handle our communication outlets

increases efficiency and streamlines our outreach.

The coordinator also helps to organize annual neighborhood events such as our annual

neighborhood picnic in the park and our long-standing annual spring park clean-up. The clean-up

allows the neighborhood to maintain a valued green area in the city, while practicing green

policies, by reducing the trash that washes through to the Kaw River. The clean-up encourages

residents to take pride in their local green spaces and to create and maintain spaces that our

neighborhood can be proud of and share with the rest of the city. Working together toward a

common goal helps promote overall neighborhood unity and cohesion, which helps make the

neighborhood a safer and more inviting place to live. Both events help to foster a sense of

community and give residents from all parts of the neighborhood a chance to meet in a social

setting.

3. How many people will be served by this grant and what percentage are low- moderate

income (describe method of verification)?

Brook Creek neighborhood is in Census tract 2 and is spread out among block groups 1, 3, 4, 5,

and 6. According to the HUD data, there are 4,815 total persons in the neighborhood, 3,345 of

these people are of low or moderate income levels which makes our neighborhood 69.47% low-

moderate income. Our requested CDBG funds of $4800 would provide $0.99 per resident.

4. What resources are currently available to dedicate to the program or activity, including

staff, volunteers, existing funds and community partners?

Our neighborhood board is made up of residents of the neighborhood who volunteer their time.

We currently have 3 officer positions (president, vice president, treasurer) and we’re seeking a

candidate for secretary. We also have 5 directors (board members at large) who assist the officers

and fulfill other important roles, including LAN representative. These volunteers are essential to

the organization, and along with the paid coordinator, help to run the business meetings, create

content for the newsletter, update residents of neighborhood changes, advocate for the

neighborhood at the city level, participate at LAN meetings, organize events and many other

functions of the organization.

Sources of revenue outside of the grant come from membership dues, donations, newsletter ad

revenue and fundraising efforts. These funds help to provide for needs that are unable to be

covered by the CDBG grant funds such as food and beverages for social events, LAN dues, and

supplies for the annual clean-up. As CDBG funding has been decreasing over the past few years

to explore other sources of revenue and prioritize fundraising efforts.

For the past few years we’ve partnered with the KU Big Event for our annual creek clean-up.

Some of our residents are unable to perform manual labor tasks, so this partnership allows us to

have KU student volunteers help with the clean up and provide the assistance for residents

during the process. We have also eliminated as many operating costs as possible. For example,

we now provide only water for our annual fall picnic and instead encourage residents to bring

potluck fare to share with neighbors.

5. How is this approach to the issue unique or collaborative and what gives it a high

likelihood of success?

community within the neighborhood and protect the aspects of the neighborhood that make it

unique. Over the course of many years, this neighborhood has proven that such an approach can

be successful. When issues have arisen that threaten the integrity of the single-family, residential

quality of the neighborhood, residents have come together to confront the issue and work for

solutions that enable the neighborhood to maintain its character.

• Such issues included the successful fight to keep the county jail out of our neighborhood.

• When developers began moving in and building multi-family dwellings, residents worked

together to get parts of the neighborhood down- zoned to single-family.

• BCNA has worked with the Salvation Army and other organizations on the problem of

Lawrence’s homeless citizens, to reach compromises that would maintain the stable

character of the neighborhood while still allowing assistance to those in need.

•

neighborhood.

• BCNA and residents work with the city toward solving the problem of blighted

residences in the neighborhood.

• We are active supporters of the Burroughs Creek Trail and the Lawrence Fruit Tree

Project, and BCNA organizes an annual creek clean-up each year to maintain those areas.

• BCNA worked with the city and the owner of the 12th & Haskell Recycling Center to

solve problems caused by the noise, pollution, and heavy truck traffic associated with the

Recycling Center in a residentially zoned part of the neighborhood. A successful

conclusion was reached with the relocation of the salvage center to an industrially zoned

part of the neighborhood. We worked with Struct/Restruct, the purchaser of that property

to assure maintaining the residential integrity of that part of the neighborhood.

The board and other members who are active, care deeply about continuing to build

We worked with the city’s transit department to help improve bus service for our

our neighborhood recognizes the need to be more self sufficient as an organization, and plans

• Our neighborhood association participates in the 19th street coalition with several other

local neighborhoods. This coalition has been working with the city to find a compromise

that will prevent increased traffic for the neighborhood, and has been actively advocating

for Brook Creek during the 19th Street Redesign discussions.

August 2019 meeting, where we have a productive discussion surrounding double density in the

neighborhood. We have started advertising our meeting agendas prior to each meeting, so that

residents interested in a specific issue know when it will be discussed. We’re continuing to

clearly advertise and remind residents about monthly meetings, and we’re exploring new,

creative ways to promote BCNA. We received feedback from some residents with young

children that our meetings were held too late in the evening, so starting in January 2020, we

moved our meetings up to 6:30pm, with a goal of starting at 6pm for meetings during the second

half of 2020. We’re hoping that this change makes our meetings more inclusive for those

residents and increases attendance this coming year.

6. How will success be measured and how will you continue to fund this project once grant

funds are expended?

Success of our efforts to get more residents involved in neighborhood issues and activities will

be measured by increasing participation in monthly meetings and special events, and an

increased following on our web-based platforms. Our email audience has grown by 32% this past

year, and we’ve seen a 21% increase in Facebook engagement since last year. Currently over

31% of Brook Creek households are signed up for Nextdoor as a result of our coordinator

sending out free postcards to residents, prompting them to sign up. We will continue to measure

our success by calculating online engagement, including social media reach and e-newsletter

opens, tracking our membership numbers, taking attendance at meetings, and continuing to

measure general interest and involvement from the neighborhood. Most of these numbers are

submitted as part of our CDBG Quarterly Reports.

Our more successful fundraising efforts have been in selling advertisements in our newsletter.

Advertisements have been lucrative, but they are dependent on our ability to fund and produce

print newsletters. While our print newsletters are important to our success as an organization, we

agree that the most crucial expense is our coordinator. Without that position, our communication

efforts would be greatly reduced, negatively impacting our ability to reach our neighbors. If our

funding were to be decreased, we would prioritize our coordinator salary, and look into other

options for our print newsletter, such has hand delivering copies, rather than paying for postage

and mailing labels. We would research and apply for other grants, and explore other fundraising

opportunities. Our goal for this year is to continue to strengthen our online presence, increase

neighborhood engagement, and build community partnerships, laying a foundation for self-

Attendance at the annual picnic continues to improve, and we had a great resident turnout at our

sufficient fundraising in the coming years. With the increased success of our web-based

communication efforts, we’re requesting less CDBG funding than previous years, as the print

newsletters are now just one piece of our communication plan, rather than the primary method.

7. What is the organization’s timeline for achieving the objectives of the grant?

Our BCNA meetings are held monthly, outside of the summer months of June and July. We will

send out printed newsletters twice a year, a fall and spring edition, during August and April. E-

newsletters will be sent every other Monday to our email audience, in addition to special event

reminders and important neighborhood updates. Our Facebook page will be updated on a regular

basis (4-5 times weekly), and the website will be maintained and updated. We’ll be increasing

our engagement on Nextdoor, posting meeting reminders and neighborhood news. The

LISTSERV will be monitored and available to all residents. We’ll be hosting our annual creek

clean-up in April, and our annual neighborhood picnic in September.

8. What other funding sources have been approached and what have the responses been?

As mentioned, our largest and most successful fundraising effort has been advertisements in the

newsletter. This helps to offset a small part of our largest communication expense.

Local businesses have been approached for in-kind donations that have allowed us to provide

lunch and supplies for the volunteers at the annual park clean-up. In the past, local organizations

have donated goods and services towards a raffle that was used as a fundraising effort. We may

consider this approach again in the coming year.

Our coordinator works reduced hours in the summer months when we do not have meetings. We

neighbors, potluck style.

also only provide drinks at our fall picnic and encourage residents to bring food to share with

Brook Creek Neighborhood Association, 2020 Officers and Directors

Officers

Jesse Brinson, President 1502 East Glenn DrCommunity Outreach & Development Coordinator

Jenna Coker, Treasurer 1406 Oak Hill Ave. Retired

Directors

Melinda Henderson 1202 Almira Ave. Retired Ron Bishop1601 East Glenn Dr. Beekeeper Tom Bogardus1403 East Glenn Dr. Construction

Natasha Naramore1337 Maple LaneSocial Worker

Fred Sack1406 Oak Hill Ave.Retired

Michael Almon, Vice President1311 Prairie Ave Building Product Sales

Secretary (open)

Coordinator

Amy Ousdahl1515 Craig Ct.Account Manager

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Brook Creek Neighborhood Association

1322 Maple Lane

Lawrence, Kansas 66044

Join Brook Creek Neighborhood Association for only $1.00 Support BCNA so that we can effectively represent you.

MEMBERSHIP RATES In-neighborhood individuals $1.00 Out-of-neighborhood individuals and businesses $5.00 Name _________________________________ Date __________________

Address __________________________________________________________________________________

Phone _________________________________ E-mail ________________________________________

Member information is used only for neighborhood communications, and not distributed or sold.

Please check ✔ any box that applies:

□ I do not want my name printed in the newsletter as a new or returning member □ I would like to be included in a neighborhood e-mail list-serve □ I would like to receive a weekly e-newsletter

Mail this form and your check payable to BCNA to: Brook Creek Neighborhood, 1406 Oak Hill Ave., Lawrence KS 66044

Visit us at http://brookcreeklawrence.wordpress.com/

Brook Creek Breeze

The Newsletter of the Brook Creek

Neighborhood Association

Spring 2019

The

Neighborhood Events

Join your Neighbors for the Annual Clean-Up

Prairie Block at Burroughs Creek Park Update On March 13, construction drawings for the playground shade structure were stamped and submitted to the Planning Dept. for permitting. Kudos to Planner Amy Miller who gave advice on expediting the permit, Mark Hecker at Parks and Rec who reviewed everything and made it official, and Westar's Green Team and Struct|Restruct for going above-and-beyond for Prairie Block. The design and drawing work represents sever-al hundred hours of donated time by the KU architecture students and their professor Keith Van de Riet for Burroughs Creek Park. The team is currently seeking old/recycled metal street signs such as stop signs, yield signs, green street signs, etc. for the shade structure. If you have any to donate or know where to (legally) get some, please email community liaison Suzan at suzanhampton@gmail.com. Thanks!

Save the Date

Come Celebrate June 1! Fifteen environmental and trails nonprofits will host art and nature activities, tours, and talks at Burroughs Creek Park to celebrate National Prairie/Trails Day and the ribbon-cutting for the new shade structure, just in time for summer. We're working on bands now, and Mayor Larsen will walk or bike with Brook Creek, East Lawrence, and Barker neighbors from Hobbs Park to Burroughs Creek Park for the ribbon-cutting. All are welcome to join in: more details to come. If you have ideas for bands or food trucks or have general feedback, please like the Prairie Block Facebook page and tell us! The page is at: https://www.facebook.com/Prairie-Block-328644767744798.

Image of structure pictured inside

We are Hiring!

We are hiring a neighborhood coordinator. This is a part time position, 20-25 hours a month. Flexible hours and much of the work can be done from home. Must be self-motivated, famil-iar with social media platforms

and have strong communica-tion skills.

Send resumes to

jesse@calledtogreatness.com

Our annual park and trail clean-up is April 27! We will meet at Brook Creek Park at 10 a.m. Gloves, trash bags and snacks will be provided. The trail spans several neighborhoods, we welcome all help. If you want to work on an area of the trail that is farther away feel free to contact the coordinator at brookcreekna@gmail.com in advance to get trash bags. Trash bags can be left next to existing bins along the trail or in the park. Thanks for helping us keep our parks and trails beautiful!

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Fall Picnic, 3 p.m. - 6 p.m.Brook Creek Park

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ATTACHMENT CHECKLIST

Please complete and submit this checklist with a copy of the following documents, if applicable. Please place all attachments at the end of the application. On the checklist, indicate by an “X” if the document is attached. � Grant Application � Narrative � Officers and board members listing including names, titles, addresses, and principal

occupations of all members � Most recent annual report � Complete itemized budget (using appropriate attached template) � All newsletters from the previous grant year (Neighborhood Associations) � Other City department approval (if required for the specific program/activity)

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